A Small Twist of Fate
by Faere
Summary: A possible oneshot. ShippoSouten...after they've had a chance to grow up.


_Author's Note: Just a cute idea I had. Hope you like it!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, characters of, etc. _

oOo

The breeze was light and sweet with the coming spring on the warm rays of sunlight. The tall grasses lightly swished and swayed with each light gust that brushed over the valley.

Shippo stood tall and proud upon the grassy hillside that overlooked his former childhood home. His keen eyes swept over the land where he had played as a child, where life had been wonderful before his world had been turned upside down. Long before the Thunder Brothers had cruelly murdered his beloved father.

While no one else seemed to understand, Shippo felt certain that he would never forget that day as long as he lived.

Shippo had recoiled in horror the day that he'd seen his father's pelt wrapped about the ugly, fat waist of Manten.

His father.

Sudden images of the two of them romping about their lands together. His father teaching him survival tactics using his fox magic, sleeping curled up in his father's soft fur.

No more.

Now he was alone. The last of his clan.

It had been up to him to avenge his father's death.

That's when he came upon Kagome and Inuyasha. His meeting of them would eventually lead up to a quest that he never would have imagined in a thousand years. He'd begun traveling with them after Inuyasha had defeated the Thunder Brothers. A debt he could never repay. A mission he wasn't able to accomplish on his own. He had been much too small…too weak.

So much had changed in the years that had passed since those days of traveling with Inuyasha and Kagome, Sango and Miroku, Kirara.

They had continued their long and tedious search for Naraku and the ultimate plan that would destroy him for good. Many things had happened among those relationships among the various groups that hunted the nefarious half-demon.

While Inuyasha had berated and beaten on him as small fox, Shippo had finally seen as a grown fox what he'd been doing all that time. Inuyasha, in his own way, was subtly teaching him how to survive on his own against those that might want to take advantage of his large, courageous heart. For many years, Shippo had resented Inuyasha for his treatment of him, but ultimately thanked the half-demon for the subtle lessons learned over those many years.

Dear Kagome.

How he'd _"crushed"_ on her as she used to say. He'd immediately found Kagome lovely, kind, and incredibly thoughtful. How many times he used to tell himself on those jaunts of Inuyasha running after Kikyo that if Kagome were his woman that she'd never have to worry about two-timing.

Reliving those childhood memories, Shippo grinned to himself and chuckled deeply in his chest. He could never see Kagome with anyone but Inuyasha. As he'd grown and watched the two of them, he'd slowly begun to realize that Kagome was more like a mother to him than any other close relationship. She worried over him, brought him delicious treats from her time, told him incredible stories, and he'd never left her side.

It was she who had suggested placing a grave marker for his long departed father. Nothing of his father's physical remains had been left after that battle with the Thunder Brothers, but Kagome had suggested that placing a gravestone as a memorial would bring a sense of closure in addition to allowing Shippo to pay his respects if he wished.

And that was what he was doing now. He looked down at the mismatched bouquet of wildflowers he held within his hands. He'd gone to a field full of them in remembrance of where he and his father would spend time working on his fox magic and ultimately goof off.

Absently scanning the area, Shippo quickly surmised that there was no danger. He marveled at his action for a moment. This was close to where the Thunder Brothers had attacked them and which resulted in the eventual death of his father. His apprehension about the place had not subsided even after all these years.

Very casually he made his way towards a spot close by the tree that he and his father would nap under frequently. It seemed a fitting place for the representation of final rest. Large rocks were littered around the large shade tree, but one stood out especially.

Shippo found that he smiled as he neared the unique grave marker just set in front of the tree trunk. He remembered Kagome had practically begged Totosai to make one especially for Shippo's father.

The old man had been thoughtful for a moment, mumbling something about not being a sculptor. But Kagome being…well… Kagome, filled the old man so full of lip service that by the end of her gushing Totosai was certain that he could erect a life size statue as a tribute to Inuyasha's father.

With one final look around, Shippo knelt before the gravestone and carefully laid the array of flowers at the base of the lovely stone.

"Hello father," his voice rumbled low. "It's been a while."

For a moment, as if he anticipated a response, Shippo finally sat back on his haunches in silence.

"I am troubled father," Shippo finally said. "So much time has passed for all my friends. Things have changed a lot. They have their own lives, their own loves…children."

Shippo said the last as he looked up at the gravestone, still expecting some form of a response.

When there was nothing but more silence, Shippo sighed and looked down at the grass beneath his feet.

"I don't want to be the last of our clan father," he admitted for the first time aloud. "I think I might actually want to find someone to help carry on our bloodline."

Shippo sighed once more as he began to mentally go into his quandary as he had many times before today.

"I wouldn't even know where to start," he finally finished. He'd returned to that village where he'd once saved a little girl named Satsuki, but he found that she had already made an excellent match and had three or four children.

Shippo propped himself on his knees and sat back on his feet. The wind had begun to pick up a little. Shippo was so lost in thought that the sound of rustling paper almost didn't catch his attention.

Eventually, a subtle rattling managed to pull his eyes from the grass in the general direction of the noise. He looked about until he saw part of a rolled up scroll flap from behind his father's gravestone.

"Huh?" he grunted, his brows furrowing with mix of confusion and curiosity. He rose up enough to pluck the scroll from behind the large stone where it was caught by part of a vine winding its way up the tree trunk.

Once again, Shippo scanned his surroundings, the scroll clutched in his grip. Once all was a clear, Shippo turned his concentration back to the parchment in his hands. As he slowly began to unfurl the paper, he became baffled at the bit of green that had been colored on it.

The crease in his brows deepened. It looked like crayon.

Crayon?

How was that possible? The only person that ever had crayons in this era was him because Kagome brought them from her time.

Quickly, he unfurled the rest of the paper. Perhaps he had drawn a picture for his father as a child and had forgotten about it somehow.

What Shippo saw made him promptly pause and his mouth became slack.

A pre-pubescent likeness of his face stared back at him.

It was a picture of him!

But who?

While Shippo had been closely scrutinizing the picture and searching his mind desperately as to where it could have come from, the sky had begun to slowly darken and the wind began to blow with more intensity.

A crack of thunder brought Shippo out of his deep concentration. Dark clouds covered the sky, thunder rumbled until the land shook and lightening illuminated the darkness from one cloud to the next. Shippo leapt to his feet and whirled to face the invisible danger, absently crumpling the picture in his hands.

He noted one lone cloud, a small cloud. He remembered that cloud.

A high-pitched, childlike laugh pierced through the air like the golden arrow that shot from the cloud and landed at Shippo's feet.

Koryu.

If that pesky dragon demon was around then that meant…

A large flash of lightening struck the ground before him and Shippo back-flipped away from the dangerous bolt to land in a defensive crouch with one hand propped on the ground, the other poised to strike.

However, what he saw once the light had dissipated made him pause in awe.

A woman dressed fully in battle armor stood before him carrying a very familiar Blade of Lightening. Her battle dress was nearly unmistakable. The smirk on her face, the haughty look in her crimson eyes, her overly proud stance.

Souten.

The last of the Thunder clan.

Her shiny black hair hung in two loose braids down her back, her face no longer rounded like that of a child, but beautifully angled with maturity. Despite her battle armor, she had become long and shapely, elegantly clasping her weapon with intent. He had to admit to himself that she had grown into a quite a beauty.

Shippo stood ready for a fight, but once the mist cleared he watched as the haughty look on her face quickly disappeared into a gasp of wide-eyed shock.

In a quick flash of lightening, she disappeared into the clouds and darkness cleared almost as quickly as it had appeared.

"No! Wait!" Shippo found himself calling out as he watched the dark clouds speed towards the Raimei Valley.

What had she been doing there? Had she sensed his presence and had come to engage him in a battle only to chicken out at the last minute?

No time to wonder now. He wanted answers.

Shippo quickly tucked the rolled picture into the band of his hakamas and began to make his way towards the fortress of the Thunder demon tribe.

oOo

_A/N: Tell me whatchya think!_


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